


Colors I and I/II

by lucifersfavoritechild



Series: "It's the Perfect Story" Asides/Aus/One-Shots [10]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Gen, It's the Perfect Story, Jealousy, Soulmate AU, TheBrightestNight, fanfic of a fanfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-02-04 03:36:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12762309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucifersfavoritechild/pseuds/lucifersfavoritechild
Summary: This is a collection of snippets from the Colors AU that either didn’t fit with the original two or that I just hadn’t thought about yet (mostly that one). Luke/OC.





	1. Kisses

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheBrightestNight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrightestNight/gifts).



> Some of these might be out of order timeline-wise, so I’ll put a year and season reference at the beginning of each.
> 
> Find me @tori-castellan on tumblr.

 

 

_Autumn, 2004_

 

Luke sifted his fingers through Tori’s soft hair, reveling in the feel of her lips. He grinned into the kiss. “You taste sweet.” 

Tori smiled. “Yeah, I had a cupcake earlier.”

Laughing, Luke wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap. He smiled up at her through half-lidded eyes. “Am I the best person you’ve ever kissed?”

Tori laughed and pressed a butterfly kiss to his lips. “You’re the _only_ one I’ve ever kissed.”

Luke froze in surprise. “Oh.”

Tori pulled back to look at him, running her hands up and down his arms. “What?”

“I...didn’t know that.”

“Oh.” A beat passed. “Have _you_ ever kissed anyone else?”

Luke stared at her before averting his eyes. Tori grabbed his jaw and turned his face back to her. “Who did you kiss?”

“I...I don’t…”

“You can tell me,” she insisted. “I won’t get mad. Cross my heart.”

Luke thought about it, then sighed internally. _I’m gonna regret this._ “Thalia.”

Tori stared at him. “You kissed Thalia?” Her face was expressionless. It was actually worse than if she’d looked angry.

Luke nodded slowly. “Yeah. Just once. You know, to see what it was like.”

“Oh,” Tori said quietly, shifting. “Okay, then.”

* * *

Tori knew that her behavior was strange and that it was bothering Luke. She didn’t blame him, honestly. They hadn’t known each other then. He had a life before her.

_But why did it have to be_ her _?_

That was the crux of it, really. If it had been anyone else, Tori wouldn’t have cared half as much. She wouldn’t _like_ it, but at least the knowledge wouldn’t eat at her like this. Because of _course_ it was Thalia. Who else could it be other than the person who’d been Luke’s friend for years, who’d shared so much with him that she never could, who had sacrificed her life so Luke and Annabeth could get to safety, making it impossible for Tori to even hate her.

She didn’t know what to feel. She didn’t know what to think. Luke _definitely_ didn’t know what to think since her behavior kept doing complete 180-turns. One minute she was ignoring him, too upset to even see his face, the next she was pushing him up against a wall, kissing him, reminding him that she was hers and she loved him and why did he need anyone else?

If it was bad for her, it must have been hell for Luke. She felt both guilty and vindictively happy about that.

It came to a head one day after training. Tori was halfway out the door when Luke grabbed her upper arm, pulling her back.

The rest of the class stared at Luke. He waved them away indifferently. “Go. Tori and I need to talk.”

They seemed to let out a simultaneous breath of relief; Camp was hell when those two were fighting. They left without an argument. Tori made an irritated sound in the back of her throat. “Great. Thanks, guys.” She faced Luke, setting her shoulders in preparation. “What do you want to talk about?”

Luke stared at her. “Seriously? Are you fucking joking?”

“I can’t read your goddamned mind, Luke! Say what you have to say!”

Luke sighed, visibly reining in his emotion. “We need to talk about…” He gestured to the space between them. “This.”

Tori crossed her arms and gave him a hard look. “Fine. Talk.”

Luke’s eyes narrowed in annoyance, but he let out a breath to calm himself. “I understand that you feel...jealous, but there isn’t...it’s…”

Tori waited a moment, then said, “You didn’t really think this through, did you?”

“No. But my point stands! This isn’t — this isn’t good! This was before we met, and I never even thought of having a soulmate, and—”

“Did you love her?”

Luke froze like a deer caught in the headlights. “What?”

“It’s a simple question. Did you love her?” Tori spoke past the lump in her throat. She needed to know.

Luke’s eyes darted around the room. “Not...the way I love you. It wasn’t this...intense, this permanent. I never felt this way about her.”

It wasn’t enough. “I had never kissed anyone before you, okay? And no, I’m perfectly aware that that doesn’t make me better than you or anyone else, and I _know_ that you had a life before we met, and I shouldn’t be holding you to any special standards, but I hate this! I hate feeling like this! I hate knowing that you kissed her! I hate _imagining_ it! I hate that it was her! I hate knowing that I never kissed or touched or wanted or loved anyone before you, but you did! Because it just, it _sucks!_ ” With that, she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

She left, waiting until she was past the treeline of the woods to run. She darted past the trees without seeing them. Only her demigod grace kept her from tripping.

She fell beside the river that divided the forest. Tears streamed down her cheek. She was angry, and sad, and embarrassed, and she wanted to disappear for a little while. So of course Luke found her in five minutes.

He laid a hand on her shoulder. Tori flinched, but didn’t push him away. She just kept staring at the water, her vision blurred.

Luke sat beside her. His voice was calm, steady. “You're right. I kissed Thalia. And I liked Thalia. I thought she and I had a chance.” Tori flinched, but Luke kept talking. “But that was then. Before we mt, before we...fell in love. And yes, I kissed Thalia, but it was awkward, and it was one time. It didn’t feel like when we kiss. You're the only one I’ve ever kissed like that. And you're the only one I _ever_ let myself be vulnerable around. You're the first thing I want to see in the morning, and the last thing I want to hear at night. You’re _it_ for me, Tori. You're the one.”

Tori listened while he spoke, the tension in her muscles slowly unwinding. When he was done, she turned and threw her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in the crook of his neck. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice muffled from his shirt, “I didn’t mean to act so stupid.”

Luke shrugged, his own anger forgotten. “You’re only human. Well, half-human. And the other half is even stupider.”

Tori laughed. “You know I’m probably still going to feel jealous sometimes, right?”

“Oh, I know. But, if it makes you feel any better, I get jealous sometimes, too.”

Tori pulled back to see his face. “Really?”

“Oh, yeah. Remember that Demeter kid that liked you?”

“John? He liked me?”

Luke laughed. “Yeah. You didn’t notice ‘cuz you’re kind of oblivious about that stuff.”

Tori ignored that. “Is that why you kicked his ass so hard during training?”

“I might have taken out some of my repressed love for you and intense hatred of anyone that looks at you like that out on him a few times.”

“A few? Try ten!” So _that_ was why John stopped talking to her. She sighed and snuggled into his chest. “Oh, Luke. You’re the worst.”

“You love me.”

Tori smiled at him. “You know what? I do.”


	2. In-Laws, Amirite?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and Luke have a heart-to-heart . . . so to speak.

_Summer, 2004_

 

Luke and Dan had never really gotten along. From the day Luke and Tori realized they were soulmates, the most they ever seemed capable of was grudging civility. Tori had tried to reconcile the two before, but they could never go longer than twenty minutes without arguing about something. But she and Luke were closer than ever now, and she wanted them to be close too, or at least friendly.

So that was why they were on a canoe together in the middle of the lake. Tori had made them get on it as soon as they’d both agreed to at least _try_ to get along. They sat across from each other in tense silence, neither sure what to say or even if they wanted to say anything.

“Are you looking forward to capture the flag?” Luke ventured.

“Not really. I’m not very competitive.”

Luke nodded once. It didn’t take long for the silence to get so annoying that he had to say something. “So, I guess we should talk about our ‘issues’, then?”

“I don’t really want to.”

“No, but _Tori_ wants us too.”

Dan scoffed, not looking at him. “Tori doesn’t know what she wants. For instance, she thinks she wants _you_ , of all people.”

Luke felt his shoulders tense defensively. “What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

Dan looked at him sharply, hatred in his dark brown eyes. _They look so like hers, but they couldn’t be more different._ “Do you want to know why I hate you, Luke?”

“Not particularly, but I’m sure you’re gonna tell me.”

“Gods-damned right, I’m going to tell you! I hate you because ever since we got here, Tori’s been a completely different person; one that’s an awful lot like _you_. I hate you because Tori cares about you to the complete exclusion of everyone else. I hate you because the only time Tori ever talks to me is when you’re not available. I hate you because my sister is completely dependent on you, and you don’t even _care_.”

“Shut up,” Luke demanded through gritted teeth.

“Or _what?_ ”

Luke stood up, too angry to really think his actions through. Before he could actually do anything though, Dan stood up, upsetting the canoe’s balance even more. The boat rocked and shook, and that was _before_ Dan stepped towards him. With a manly yelp, Luke fell over the side of the canoe and into the lake. Water filled his nose and ears in an instant.

Luke kicked up, breaking through the surface in the water and dragging air into his lungs. He turned from side to side to re-orientate himself. The canoe was to his back. Dan was still in it, laughing. Luke growled in the back of his throat and suddenly grabbed hold of the small boat, using all his strength to flip it over. Dan shouted before falling backwards, sending water spray everywhere. Luke allowed himself to be smug for a moment before he looked to the shore and saw Tori standing there.

* * *

 

Tori shone a light in each of Luke’s eyes, refusing to be distracted by their blueness for once. Luke groaned in annoyance. “Tori, I told you already, I’m _fine_. I just fell in the water.”

“You still could have been hurt,” Tori said in an annoyed, clipped tone. “How’s your breathing?”

“It’s fine.”

“The water could have damaged your lungs.”

“In _two seconds?_ ”

Tori ignored him and continued looking him over for any sign of injury, running her fingers over his arms to look for bruises or muscle problems. “You’re sure you don’t feel any different?”

“Positive.”

“Good,’’ Tori said before smacking Luke’s chest. “What the _hell_ is wrong with you two?!”

“OW!” Luke shouted. “What did I do?!”

“Are you two just utterly incapable of treating each other with basic human decency for some reason? Why can’t you just get along for _ten minutes?!_ ”

“ _First_ of all,” Luke said, standing up, “Dan isn’t even in here, so you’re just yelling at me! Secondly, he’s the one who—” It was then that Luke thought of everything that Dan had said about him. But worse than his words was the fact that Luke couldn’t counter them. He sighed tiredly. “Forget it.” He turned so he didn’t have to face her, but her hand was on his in a second.

“Luke?” Tori asked quietly, her voice much gentler than it had been a moment ago, “What did Dan do?”

Luke sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“If it’s bothering you, than he shouldn’t have said it.”

Luke wove his and Tori’s fingers together, feeling weak and tired and honestly just wanting to take a nap. “But it’s true.”

“What’s true, sweetheart?” Tori asked, rubbing his back tenderly.

“What he said.”

“Yeah? And what’s that?”

Luke shut his eyes. “That you’re a different person because of me. That I take up too much of your thoughts and energy. That you ignore him and other people because of me. That you’re . . . _dependent_ on me.”

Tori rested her forehead against Luke’s spine. “He shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s true.”

“Okay, maybe part of it’s true. But that doesn’t make it _bad_. Luke, look at me.”

He did as she said, turning to face her. Tori took his face in her hands and stood up on her toes so that she could press their foreheads together. “Luke, I’m not just Dan’s sister, anymore than I’m just your soulmate. I have a life, and _yes_ , it involves you. So? I _want it_ to involve you. I love you. And yes, I’m a different person, but that’s not a bad thing. People change. They _grow_. And, personally, I think the changes you’ve brought about are for the better.” She looked down at their feet, feeling a lump in her throat. “And I admit that I ignore Dan a lot. But that’s not because of you. It’s just that . . . it’s _hard_ , being around him. He reminds me of our mom. Of what I lost.” Tori took in a shuddering breath and moved past that. “Being around you is easy. You make me feel lighter, _happier_. I like being around you.”

Luke listened in silence, rubbing his hands up and down Tori’s arms to comfort himself. He looked down at her. Her brown eyes were wide and still. They almost seemed to glow in the yellow light of the infirmary. “I like being around you, too.” He said quietly.

Tori laughed. “Yeah, I should hope so. I don’t think I could keep you around based on looks around.”

Luke looked her up and down mischievously. “Sure about that?”

Tori smacked his chest and called him an idiot. Luke just smiled and kissed her.


	3. A Colorful Christmas

_Fuck. This isn’t good, this is NOT good. This might actually be the worst thing that’s ever happened to someone._ Tori paused, then acknowledged that yeah, that was probably a bit of an exaggeration. But still, this was pretty bad.

 _What the hell am I going to get Luke for Christmas?_ She usually wasn’t too worried about it, but this was their first Christmas as a couple. This was special.

 _Okay Tori, THINK. What does Luke like?_ She made a mental list:

  1. _Fighting._

  2. _Me._




. . .

 _Well, that was productive._ Tori groaned and resisted the urge to face-desk (she was _long_ past face-palming).

Beginning to feel desperate, Tori started to think of random gift ideas as they occurred to her. _He doesn’t want a pet. Also, I don’t think we’re allowed to have pets. Maybe like, a chain, or an earring? He could pull off an earring._ But he’d never really shown any interest in jewelry apart from his arrow pendant. . . _What else? I could get him clothes, but that’s not special. We can’t really use technology, so I can’t get him anything like that. He doesn’t like reading because of his dyslexia, so a book would probably be the worst thing to get him. How about a sword? He likes swords. But he already had, like, three swords, so a new one would be kind of pointless. A plant? Does he like plants?_ Tori paused and reflected on her life for a moment before face-desking. “I’m the worst girlfriend ever,” she groaned.

Later, Tori would never be sure how exactly she got the idea. Maybe a god sent it to her. Maybe her brain was scared that she would keep hitting it with a desk if it didn’t start to actually do its job. But the idea _finally_ came to her, rough at first, but she slowly sanded off its edges before putting her plan into action.

* * *

 

Tori sat across from Luke, bouncing her leg up and down in anticipation. It was Christmas, and they’d somehow managed to get away from everyone else. They were sitting on one of the infirmary’s beds with the curtain pulled around them for extra privacy. She had already opened Luke’s gift — a set of her favorite soulmate books, including _Romeo and Juliet_ (and yes, she was aware that it was a tragedy; that didn’t mean she couldn’t like it), the book version of _Titanic_ , and one dedicated to different soulmates from Greek mythology. Tori was quite happy with it, although now she was much more nervous about how her own gift would go over. Regardless, she handed Luke the little blue gift box. He opened it, smiling at her. “You don’t have to be so nervous, Tori—” He looked down at the gift and slowly picked it up. “This—”

Tori held her hand up to stop him. “Before you say anything, I know we can’t usually use technology because of monsters, but this one’s special.” She picked up the shiny white music player and explained, “I got the Athena cabin and some of Hecate’s kids to work with me on this, so it shouldn’t attract any monsters. Besides, none of them can get past the camp’s borders anyway.” She turned on the music player. “And I already uploaded some of the songs you like. And, I, um, made a playlist for you.” There was a set of earbuds in the gift box, and she plugged them into the device and put the playlist on. “Here,” she handed Luke the gift, and sat back in anticipation.

Luke sat quietly for once and listened to the song. Tori stared at him, not wanting to look away. She also wasn’t sure if Luke would like all of the songs she’d chosen, but she liked them and thought they fit well. _Gods, what if he thinks I’m arrogant? Why would he want to listen to me all the time—_

“Is this you?” Luke asked, looking at her with a soft, loving expression that no one else was allowed to see.

“Yeah,” Tori admitted, blushing.

Luke leaned forward suddenly, kissing her. “I love it,” he breathed, pressing his forehead against hers.

Tori smiled, and was just about to return the kiss when someone started pounding on the infirmary door. “Hey, guys, we know you’re kind of ‘busy’ in there, but some kids got into a fight about whether or not the Hermes kids were stealing gifts, and now we kind of need to get them into the infirmary.”

Luke groaned and rolled his eyes. “Are we just not allowed to have privacy? Is that it?”

Tori gave him a small, ‘don’t rip their heads off, then we’ll never get any time along’ look and got up, saying, “Come on. We should probably make sure the Stolls haven’t actually stolen anything.”

* * *

Songs on Tori’s Playlist for Luke

  * _Clarity_ , Zedd

  * _Compass_ , SVCRINA

  * _Cosmic Love_ , Florence + the Machine

  * _Love Story_ , Taylor Swift

  * _Love You Like a Love Song_ , Selena Gomez

  * _No Matter What They Say_ , SVCRINA

  * _Warrior_ , Beth Crowley

  * _Wish That You Were Here_ , Florence + the Machine





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